Sheet material dispensing apparatus and method

An apparatus for dispensing sheet material from at least one source of sheet material, the apparatus comprising:

• a housing defining
• an interior including a first section for a first source of sheet material and a second section for a second source of sheet material, and
• an outlet though which an end portion of sheet material is dispensed from at least one of the sources;
• at least one nipping surface disposed in the housing;
• a sensor for sensing the amount of sheet material of the first source of sheet material, the sensor comprising at least one cam surface moving in response to a change in size of the first source of sheet material;
• a nipping element cooperating with the nipping surface to form a nip between the nipping element and the nipping surface, the nipping element being movably mounted in the housing to move toward and away from the nipping surface;
• and
• at least one cam follower cooperating with the nipping element, the cam follower contacting the cam surface and the cam surface moving with respect to the cam follower to control movement of the nipping element.

An apparatus for dispensing sheet material from at least one source of sheet material, the apparatus comprising:

• a housing defining
• an interior including a first section for a first source of sheet material and a second section for a second source of sheet material, and
• an outlet though which an end portion of sheet material is dispensed from at least one of the sources;
• at least one nipping surface disposed in the housing;
• a nipping element disposed in the housing, the nipping element cooperating with the nipping surface to form a nip for passage of the sheet material;
• and
• at least one isolating element movably mounted in the housing, the isolating element moving between a second source isolating position in which the isolating element positions the second source out of contact with the nipping surface and a second source dispensing position placing the second source on the nipping surface.

A method of dispensing sheet material from a dispenser comprising a housing, at least one nipping surface, and a movable nipping element, the housing defining an interior including a first section accommodating a first source of sheet material and a second section accommodating a second source of sheet material, and an outlet, the method comprising the steps of:

• dispensing sheet material from the first source, the dispensing comprising passing an end portion of sheet material from the first source through a nip formed between the nipping element and the nipping surface and through the outlet;
• moving the nipping element with respect to the nipping surface to place an end portion of sheet material from the second source in the nip formed between the nipping element and the nipping surface;
• and
• dispensing sheet material from the second source, the dispensing of sheet material from the second source including passing the end portion of the sheet material from the second source through the nip and through the outlet.

A method of dispensing sheet material from a dispenser comprising a housing, at least one nipping surface, and a nipping element, the housing defining an interior including a first section accommodating a first source of sheet material and a second section accommodating a second source of sheet material, and an outlet, the method comprising the steps of:

• positioning the second source out of contact with the nipping surface;
• dispensing sheet material from the first source, the dispensing comprising passing an end portion of sheet material from the first source through a nip formed between the nipping element and the nipping surface and through the outlet;
• sensing the quantity of the first source;
• placing the second source on the nipping surface when a predetermined quantity of the first source is sensed;
• and
• dispensing sheet material from the second source, the dispensing of sheet material from the second source comprising passing an end portion of sheet material from the second source through the nip and through the outlet.

A method of dispensing sheet material from a dispenser comprising

• a housing defining
• an interior including a first section for a source of sheet material and a second section for the source of sheet material, the second section being larger than the first section, and
• an outlet through which the sheet material is dispensed, the method comprising the steps of:
• dispensing the sheet material of the source from the housing while the source is in the second section, the dispensing comprising passing the sheet material of the source through the outlet;
• sensing the quantity of the source of sheet material in the second section;
• and
• providing an indication when the quantity of the source in the second section is small enough to place the source of sheet material in the first section of the housing interior.

An apparatus for dispensing perforated sheet material, the apparatus comprising:

• a housing defining an interior for accommodating at least one source of sheet material therein and an outlet through which an end of the sheet material is dispensed from the at least one source, the outlet having a width less than the overall width of the sheet material;
• and
• a first surface and a second surface forming a nip through which the sheet material passes,
• wherein the nip and the oulet are configured such that a least one angle defined by a first line extending along an exit of the nip and a second line formed between the outermost lateral exit end of the nip along the first line that contains the sheet material and the point of contact between the sheet material and the edge of the outlet is from about 26° to about 36°, and
• wherein the closest point on a line extending along an exit of the nip is spaced a distance of from about 0.1 inch to about 3 inches to the point of contact between the sheet material and the edge of the outlet.

An apparatus for dispensing sheet material from at least one source of sheet material, the apparatus comprising:

• a housing defining
• an interior including a first section for a first source of sheet material and a second section for a second source of sheet material, the second section being larger than the first section, and
• an outlet though which an end portion of sheet material is dispensed from at least one of the sources;
• at least one nipping surface disposed in the housing;
• a nipping element pivotally mounted in the housing so that the nipping element pivots between a first position in which a first portion of the nipping element and the nipping surface form a nip for the end portion of sheet material, and a second position in which at least a second portion of the nipping element and the nipping surface form a nip for the end portion of sheet material;
• at least one isolating element movably mounted in the housing, the isolating element moving between a second source isolating position in which the isolating element positions the second source out of contact with the nipping surface and a second source dispensing position placing the second source on the nipping surface
• a first sensor for sensing the amount of sheet material of the first source of sheet material, the first sensor comprising at least one cam surface moving in response to a change in size of the first source of sheet material;
• at least one cam follower cooperating with the nipping element, the cam follower contacting the cam surface and the cam surface moving with respect to the cam follower to control movement of the nipping element;
• a second sensor disposed in the housing for sensing the size of the second source while the second source is in the second section;
• and
• an indicator cooperating with the second sensor to provide an indication when the size of the second source is small enough to place the second source of sheet material in the first section of the housing interior.